THURSDAY, APRIL 13
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
James 4:1-2

"…and that there be no
divisions among you..."

A DIVIDED CHURCH!

The people of God must be united, for they are a people of one Lord, one calling and one faith (Eph 4:1-5). Christ is not divided. He does not disagree with Himself!

Sadly, we often see strife and contentions in the church. Instead of unity, we see disharmony. The cause is sin and self-centredness! Read James 4:1-2. The Corinthian church was one such church that was split by "contentions." The word "contentions" is translated from the Greek term eris, referring to quarrels and debates. What were they arguing about? Answer: About which church leader should be the greatest! Personality cults were causing schisms in the church. There were at least four different parties in the Corinthian church:

1. The party of Paul. These hanged on to Paul because he was their founding pastor.

2. The party of Cephas. These followed Cephas, the leader of the Apostles.

3. The party of Apollos. Apollos was their current pastor and a man blessed with extraordinary oratorical skill.

4. The party of Christ. These claimed to follow only Christ, but had a "holier-than-thou" attitude.

The irony of the situation was that none of the leaders desired to be leaders of personality cults. Paul reminded the Corinthian church that Christ manifested a oneness of purpose throughout His earthly ministry. Their leaders were sinners too. Only Christ died on behalf of them for their sins. They must worship Christ only, not man!

THOUGHT: Do I look to man rather than to God?
PRAYER: Lord, grant us churches that are united in Thy truth!